THIS Michigan Daily article featured CAPS support to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. The Daily interviewed two CAPS staff on the topic, Dr. Vicki Hays and Dr. Jim Dolan.
Dr. Vicki Hays shared the following regarding SAD:
“Seasonal affective disorder is considered a part of the overall umbrella of depression,” Hays said. “Primarily, I think you would notice that unlike your normal state of being, you’d feel more lethargic, less interested in things, maybe not able to concentrate as well, lots of our basic symptoms of depression. And it’s not a great combination to have that and have all the school stuff going on this time of year.”
Dr. Jim Dolan shared this perspective:
“It’s important for people to understand there’s a difference between the weather just kind of affecting your mood and the normal things we feel as human beings when the season changes, versus when something becomes depression, which is a more serious matter,” Dolan said. “It’s pretty normal for people to want to stay in bed a little more, or to raise carbohydrate foods and things like that. But it’s when it starts to interfere with your life — like you can’t get out of bed or you stop attending events or you don’t go to classes — that’s when depression can be a real problem.”
In addition to Dr. Hays and Dr. Dolan, the article spoke to Wolverine Support Network (WSN) Executive Director Jordan Lazarus who shared about the weekly peer-facilitated support groups run out of WSN.
Find the full article HERE.